Experience with NCS?

[prudden]

I left a couple of Morgan DMPL's with NCS at the Sarasota coin show on the 25th.One needed to have some kind of white streaky residue removed the other had some ugly spots.

There was one kid there who looked about 14.I guess he was realyy 19 or 20. He Never saw an INS slab before,neither had his co-worker.. He was funny,he couldn't put the coin down,he was turning it over and over saying "this is cool"."Never seen one of these before". The woman at the table was somewhat better. They told me 4-5 weeks. What is your experience with NCS?

This is the one in the INS slab. I was told by someone here I trust that NCS could do a great job on this.The reverse isn't so streaky. Second is in an old ANACS MS 64 DMPL slab. Actually doesn't look that bad in this picture but it doesn't look very good in hand.The revrse has less spotting but some. They may not do anything at all with this one except regrade it. But that'll be okay.

 

 

[EZ_E]

NCS does do excellent, professional work but they are not magicians. Some of the black toning spots on the 1887 have eaten into the surface of the coin and will be evident after conservation. The fingerprint on the 1879 may or may not have eaten into the surface. Must wait and see.

 

I was pleased with NCS's work but not at their customer service. I sent in a 1942 PR67 silver Jefferson with the sweetest reverse toning. I only wanted the obverse conserved and wrote it down 3 times with explicit instructions not to touch the obverse. They completely ignored my request and did what they wanted to do, regardless of my, the owner's, request. They showed a complete lack of regard for my wishes and, in my opinion, seriously harmed a once favorite coin in my collection. I've never liked that coin since. And it downgraded from a 67 to a 65.

 

This is a perfect example of market grading where the coin's grade was boosted 2 points over the technical grade due to the eye-appeal of the toning. Lesson learned is that market grading is a pricing service and one should be aware that often the lofty grades assigned to toned coins is complete hogwash!

 

I somewhat agree with Weimer White's opinion that toning is chemical wear, especially once it reaches blue, purple or black. In many instances, the toning hides damage to the surface of the coin. Yet, I love beautifully toned coins but only if it hasn't obscured permanent damage to the coin's surface.

[prudden]

You are right. I'm not so worried about the fingerprints or textile marks(whatever they are)as the streaky whitish brown stuff.Unless of course it becomes a distraction after conserving. And,if they can just do something about the numerous smaller spots on the 87 then the two larger bluish ones won't be as bad,I think.The large spot at 2'clock is over a tiny gouge in the metal.It really looks like there's a gorgeous 79 Morgan under that stuff.Hope so.

[RareSov]

I couldn't praise NCS highly enough, their work on my Parliament House proof florin really helped and brought out amazing mirrors in a circulated coin

 

Here's my post ATS, it is a shame I didn't have before/after images with a consistent setup, I had to use the sellers image which I believe is a scanner job

 

http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=6&threadid=709440

[RareSov]

Oh, I better comment on your coins

 

I think they will come back nice..

[James_OldeTowne]

My only two experiences with NCS were excellent, and I think both of those Morgans will be improved by their services.

[prudden]

Considering the 87 was less than half grey sheet for the grade and the 79s was about 1/5 grey sheet then it Think it'll be worth the money to have it done. They may not come back the same grade.The 79s is supposed to be 65DMPL. Looks to be 65 but maybe not DMPL?

 

As f the 27th scheduled for Evaluation.

[coinman1794]

I left a couple of Morgan DMPL's with NCS at the Sarasota coin show on the 25th.One needed to have some kind of white streaky residue removed the other had some ugly spots.

There was one kid there who looked about 14.I guess he was realyy 19 or 20. He Never saw an INS slab before,neither had his co-worker.. He was funny,he couldn't put the coin down,he was turning it over and over saying "this is cool"."Never seen one of these before". The woman at the table was somewhat better. They told me 4-5 weeks. What is your experience with NCS?

This is the one in the INS slab. I was told by someone here I trust that NCS could do a great job on this.The reverse isn't so streaky. Second is in an old ANACS MS 64 DMPL slab. Actually doesn't look that bad in this picture but it doesn't look very good in hand.The revrse has less spotting but some. They may not do anything at all with this one except regrade it. But that'll be okay.

 

 

 

Both of these Morgans appear to have been improperly dipped. Considerable improvements could be made to these coins without re-dipping them, but the concentrated spots can only be removed with another dip, and will probably not completely lift out (leaving tiny black flecks at their centers. The fingerprints may or may not lift after dipping, and the haze will likely vanish with any NCS treatment.

[EZ_E]

I sure like that cameo appearance on the 1879. (thumbs u

[prudden]

I sure like that cameo appearance on the 1879. (thumbs u

 

Yeah.Me three.It's probably going to be awhile before I get them back. I'll know when/if they get to grading first though. I hate waiting. In the meantime,might as well post pics of the reverses. I know everyone here probably wants to see.Am I right?First is the 79 S. Wow,that 79s reverse is worse that I thought!! Thanks guys!!

 

Hey coinman, do you think they will accept these for NGC grading after being as you say,"improperly dipped"? It must have been a real long time ago,because one of the slabs is from the late 80's. 87 or 88.The other is from the mid 90's? It's a small ANACs holder.

 

 

[EZ_E]

Hello, Pete. I'll stand in for Coinman. If properly conserved, which NCS will do, there shouldn't be a trace of dip residue left. I don't think that the 1879 will have a problem, the other may be iffy because those spittle marks, or whatever they are, are extreme and have damaged the coin. This is one of my major pet peaves, especially on an otherwise good coin.

 

P.S. I do love that cameo on the 1880 S you shared with me. I am a sucker for a nice cameo. Notice in my type set, most of my early proofs are cameo. This indicates an early strike on new or refurbished dies, not to mention the perks it gives to a coin's eye-appeal.

 

[prudden]

Hello, Pete. I'll stand in for Coinman. If properly conserved, which NCS will do, there shouldn't be a trace of dip residue left. I don't think that the 1879 will have a problem, the other may be iffy because those spittle marks, or whatever they are, are extreme and have damaged the coin. This is one of my major pet peaves, especially on an otherwise good coin."end quote.

 

 

Thanks EZ_E,

 

I think if they could get rid of the five or six smaller spots on the obverse and a few n the reverse I'd be satisfied.The dark spots are at the periphery so wouldn't be bad by themselves.They are mostly dark blue not black except for the very center.

 

Think that 80S is graded correctly at MS 64?I think maybe the fields dropped the grade a point.

[EZ_E]

The reverse is very sweet! The obverse is nice but for the deep hits on Miss Anna's cheek. I think that it could go in either a 63 or a 64 holder but grading from a picture is not ideal. Still, I like the coin a lot.

[prudden]

The reverse is very sweet! The obverse is nice but for the deep hits on Miss Anna's cheek. I think that it could go in either a 63 or a 64 holder but grading from a picture is not ideal. Still, I like the coin a lot.

 

There's really only the one hit on the cheek/chin. The other scratch near it is on the slab.A few luster breaks as with most cameo's. Can you see anything else that I'm missing?

[EZ_E]

In that case, Pete, it may make 65. (thumbs u

 

Unfortunately, I have dial up internet since DSL is not available to me and the pics are sometimes a little distorted since they sometimes don't fully load. Hence, my misinterpretation of the photos.

[prudden]

In that case, Pete, it may make 65. (thumbs u

 

Unfortunately, I have dial up internet since DSL is not available to me and the pics are sometimes a little distorted since they sometimes don't fully load. Hence, my misinterpretation of the photos.

 

Thanks.I know you're a tough grader,so I'll probably go by your estimate of 64.I could crack it out,(I still can't see why it didn't get a PL).But,I think the pictures can speak for themselves if I ever sell it.

[Golden Oldie]

I just got six coins back from NCC. 1 error and 5 detail grades.

 

My only "Problem" was getting the box open! They really taped that box up tight.

 

Pat

[dooly]

from my experiance they will come back in great condition (thumbs u

[prudden]

I just got six coins back from NCC. 1 error and 5 detail grades.

 

My only "Problem" was getting the box open! They really taped that box up tight.

 

Pat

 

So, how long did it take?

[Golden Oldie]

About 5 minutes. Could be because I'm almost 70 and have arthritis in my hands.

 

As the box was taped solid, I couldn't find where the flap opening was.

 

Then again, it may deter tampering.

 

Pat

[MikeKing]

I've used NCS at least three times, and each time was not just a failure, but it was impossible to communicate with them. The last coin I sent, I spoke to someone there, totally hostile and didn't follow my instructions anyway. I doubt I'd ever use them again.

 

I say this publicaly so NGC will note the customer dissatisfaction.

 

[EZ_E]

That is what made me upset with them, a total disregard of my instructions like they are God with complete disdain that a mere mortal should even dare instruct them.

[dooly]

That's interesting .. i have had nothing but friendly people when i have phoned from the UK .. also they have followed my instructions to the letter .. maybe the like the Geordie accent ??

 

not like when NGC had some of my coins conserved before slabbing when it was not requested .. and not to forget the time they sent me a $900 Chinese coins in my Victorian florin slab !! but i did have fun winding them up saying i had not got the coin for a couple of days .. haha!

[prudden]

Got a phone call from NCS last week.They had a question..Had to play phone,e-mail tag for a few days. Turns out they say the coins won't benefit from conserving. They asked if I'd like to have them sent to NGC for grading.And if I would accept a lower grade.In the e-mail they implied the coins would grade,buy at lower values. What I told them was to leave the ANACS graded 87 alone and send through the 79 S. What do you guys think?

[dooly]

I think you were right to send the 1879s (thumbs u good luck on the grade

[Boss-migration]

I've used NCS at least three times, and each time was not just a failure, but it was impossible to communicate with them. The last coin I sent, I spoke to someone there, totally hostile and didn't follow my instructions anyway. I doubt I'd ever use them again.

 

I say this publicaly so NGC will note the customer dissatisfaction.

 

I agree with this very much. I have sent about 10 coins to them. At least half of them they made look worse including my 1914 D Lincoln, VF 35, my 1869 AU 58 IHC and my 1881 IHC.

 

[jackson64]

I have used them only once...and I won't say "never again" but it is highly unlikely..

 

I will save my feelings and stick to details--My experience was simply this: I sent in a pedigreed So-Called Dollar from 1907 Jamestown 300th anniversary. It was the "gilt" or gold-plated variety and had a few black spots which I suspected might be down into the surface...nonetheless I sent it to the professionals to see what they thought and if they could do anything...

 

After 6 weeks I finally called to find out what was up with my coin...I was informed that it wasn't ready yet..so I finally knew that they had decided it was a candidate for conservation...

 

Another month later, I got the coin back from NGC..

 

-- it was downgraded 2 points from a 65 to a 63

-- the black spots had "faded" a little to gray but were still there

-- the gold/gilt now looked washed out and the copper underneath was shining through in places

-- it was now housed in a non-pedigreed holder

 

I felt that the coin had been ruined...I did not make a fuss over it ( not my nature) and I still own the coin...but my experience was disappointing....I'm sure that this can't be the norm or they would not be in business and I won't make recommendations either way...but I'm not sure I seew a scenario where I'd use them again..

[dooly]

I've used NCS at least three times, and each time was not just a failure, but it was impossible to communicate with them. The last coin I sent, I spoke to someone there, totally hostile and didn't follow my instructions anyway. I doubt I'd ever use them again.

 

I say this publicaly so NGC will note the customer dissatisfaction.

 

I agree with this very much. I have sent about 10 coins to them. At least half of them they made look worse including my 1914 D Lincoln, VF 35, my 1869 AU 58 IHC and my 1881 IHC.

 

 

I have to disagree with the coin you have posted as it had toned over the years and "conservation " was always going to remove the "age tone" from the coin and they can only work with the base coin they cannot add something that is not there on the submitted coin .. that is not what conservation is for .. it is to sort out problem coins .. your coin had little or no problem when submitted .. hence the grade it had achieved .. check out some of my posts on coins submitted for conservation .. and see the results as these posts were for education on the subject ..

 

just my that's all nothing more !!

[Ahab]

About 5 minutes. Could be because I'm almost 70 and have arthritis in my hands.

 

As the box was taped solid, I couldn't find where the flap opening was.

 

Then again, it may deter tampering.

 

Pat

 

That's what they make razor knives for. (thumbs u

[prudden]

Hey guys.I got the coins back.I decided against having NGC grade the 79S. Maybe I should have,I don't know. Anyway, both coins came with a note attached saying

 

"A probability exists that toning removal will diminish the overall attractiveness of the coin and/or it's desirability and grade".

 

Sounds like they didn't see anything wrong or any damage on them at least.Just toning. They did say,in an e-mail,r they would grade .Didn't say what grade though.